The Van Der Bilts (Vanderbilts)
Gloria Morgan ‘Vanderbilt’
Vanderbilt: a name that is synonymous with glamour and sophistication. It conjures up images . of a hazy wide eyed view of a romantic sepia time around 1950, where elegant women wore expensive scents, were pursued by a terribly charming beau and it was all terribly grown up and exciting.
The Vanderbilt family: part of the ‘nouveau riche’ were descendants of Dutch settlers who came to New Amsterdam in the 17th century now of course known as Staten Island, New York.
The staunch head of the family Cornelius ‘the Commodore’ Vanderbilt had a gritty work ethic, he was very driven and successful in everything he touched. He started out in shipping then on to the railroads and made his fortune so much so he was a tycoon. The rich ‘knickerbockers,’ of NY who came from ‘old money,’ shunned him but he did not care. He was on the path to success and nothing would hold him back.
Gloria Mercedes Morgan, was born 23 August 1904 at The Grand Hotel, Lucerne, Switzerland to Harry Hays Morgan (from New Orleans) and Laura Delphine Kilpatrick originating from Santiago Chile. She had an identical twin sister, Thelma (Viscount) Furness. Thelma (pronounced Telma) would go on to be the mistress of Edward VII. She also had a sister called Consuelo.
Laura Delphine Kilpatrick Vanderbilt
The sisters at the tender age of 16 moved into an apartment at 40 Fifth Avenue, a private town house. They had some minor roles in silent movies and were known as ‘The Magnificent Morgans. Cecil Beaton described them as ‘alike as two magnolias.’
On 6th March 1923, in New York city, Gloria Morgan became the second wife of Reginald Claypole Vanderbilt. Thus securing her place in one of the wealthiest and fashionable families in the US at the time.
Her daughter Gloria Laura was born 20 February 1924 in New York. She married four tines and during her childhood was the subject of a high profile custody battle which her mother lost to her paternal Aunt Gertrude. Her husbands were Pat DiCicco an actors’ agent and mobster, Leopold Stokowski a conductor, Director, Sidney Lumet and Wyatt Emory Cooper an author & actor.
Gloria’s father (Reginald), had died suddenly of liver cirrhosis when she was 18 months old. This resulted in her mother and Gloria being part of a dramatic court case.
The custody battle ( traumatic for a young girl) would have catapulted a 10 year old Gloria into the spotlight and scandalised both society and the general public. It was also amidst the backdrop of The Great Depression which must have rankled many on the outside who were in total poverty.
Gloria’s mothers use of finances were scrutinized as was her personal conduct. Aunt Gertrude eventually won the trial and became her ward. It was a sensational trial by all accounts. Her mother was accused of having a lesbian affair with the Marchioness of Milford Haven, a relative of the British royal Family. This was all part of a alleged ‘raucous’ lifestyle that Aunt Gertrude insisted made her an unfit mother.
Gloria as a young girl with her mother and her Aunt Gertrude
Gloria Vanderbilt the epitome of the decadent Glamour of the Gilded Age.
Of her many talents or pursuits another was acting, she studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse with teacher Sanford Meisner and debuted in 1954 in ‘The Swan’ staged at Pocono Playhouse in Mountainhome, Pennsylvania. This is where the idea for her swan logo derived from on the Vanderbilt perfume and designer jeans.
A commercial shot of the infamous Vanderbilt perfume, complete with swan logo.
Gloria did not conform to ‘old maid’ stereotypes as she aged, instead she penned an erotic novel in her eighties, and continued with her passions of painting, into her 90’s. She had four sons, journalist Anderson Cooper, Leopold Stokowsi and Christopher Stokowsi. She sadly lost her son Carter to suicide in 1988 when he was 23, (she witnessed this) which haunted her for the rest of her life.
The Vanderbilts are my distant cousins via my mothers’ ancestral line- June Pilbeam-Foster.
New Amsterdam where it all began